Guard Geese?

We havent had chickens in a few years, but were planning on ordering some this spring. We live in a wooded, fairly remote area and predators like hawks, foxes, coyotes, raccoons, weasels, and fishers can be a real problem.

A good friend of ours claims to have solved this problem by keeping a pair of geese with her chickens. She tells us that since she got her geese she hasnt lost a single bird. Have any of you tried this?

Im thinking about getting a pair of Pilgrim geese since theyre reported to be a little smaller, less vocal, and calmer then some of the other breeds, but wonder if theyll be goose enough to do the job. My friend has a pretty feisty pair of White Embdens, but Id prefer having something a little friendlier if I can get away with it. Any breed recommendations for guard geese?

I LOVE my chinese goose. He's kind of an a**, but he is really protective of his flock... especially the ducks. We have foxes around, and owls, and we haven't lost anyone since we got mr. goose. He even lets me know when people come to the house, or when anything is 'wrong' by making these crazy high pitched whistles and honks, much different (and louder) than his regular noises... I absolutely recommend getting geese, probably a breed known for it's watchdog tendencies...

I had a African that took on a coyote. He lost in the end but he did his best to protect the ducks. My mom refuses to let us shoot anything, so i had to watch my poor goose fight for and lose his life. He did a better job protecting my flocks then the guard dogs did. Now that we have our own farm if it eats my stock it dies.

I am planing on use a combination of guineas and geese as guards. I also learned to always lock everybody up at night. I free range inside a fenced area for extra protection as well. And the golden rule is always have some extra chickens!

I am going to use Africans. If you let them know whose boss you shouldn't have any problems with them.

I am thinking of getting geese once our pasture fence is finished. I didn't know they would act like a type of "guard". That is an added bonus!
Do you think there are certain breeds that are more aggressive than others?

www.casarnc.comAgnes and Agatha-the black cochin bantam twins(pit bulls with feathers),Miss Prissy-Barred rock and matriarch of the flock,Fiona-easter egger and is Miss P's shadow. New additions to the farm, DUCKS! Austrailian spotted bantams(100% hatch rate from Asher's eggs..Thanks Asher!), khaki campbells, rouens, and pekins. More babies(chicks) coming on April 30th! Yay!

Having said that, I will warn you that even the most aggressive goose does not stand a chance against coyotes or stray dogs. I had coyotes jump a six foot fence, kill my first 2 pairs, jump back across the fence with them--it was muddy & we tracked them down to the bayou the next morning--where only a few feathers were left.

So I learned my lesson & after that, everybody goes into lockdown every night in my "Fort Knox" coop.

I've had more than one visitor back away in fear when they spotted my flock of Chinese coming across the field screaming with wings outstretched - they will let you know even if a strange dog or cat comes into the yard.

I've had guineas & they were good watchdogs too, but I liked the geese better--I could tell from their voices if they were shouting greetings at someone they knew or if it was a stranger or if they considered it a threat.

Not sure about geese, but I'm watching this thread cause you described our property to a T Wardsboro!! We used to have a fenced in area, but it was years ago and I'm not really up to repairing it. If it were big enough, (and I felt up to fixing it again) I'd consider a donkey... they're very agressive against predators.

We had room for a few goats, and they work wonders at clearing brush and such, and the chickens love to be around them, looking for bugs and such all around them. They were happy companions.

Now, I think I'm going to look into some geese too, less grass mowing for me too!!! ... Hmmm... we have lots of woods, so maybe some Pea fowl too. *scratches some notes down and grumbles about BYC people encouraging CRAZINESS*

Edited by PortageGirl - 2/2/09 at 9:37am

Chickens In The Road A Great friend's site with great photography, stories and recipes for living a full life!

I just re-read my post, I'm NOT getting pea fowl, as in NO PEACOCKS for ME!! Sheesh!!! Well, probably not, I should have said guineas! I'll save the peacocks for anther year!! OH my goodness!

Peacocks would be great revenge against the neighbors across the river that have the dog of the never-ending bark. Silly yappy thing! I could only imagine hearing the peacock's cry echoing across the valley though!! YIKES!!

Chickens In The Road A Great friend's site with great photography, stories and recipes for living a full life!

"Success is waking up in the morning, whoever you are, wherever you are, however old or young, and bounding out of bed because there's something out there you love to do, that you believe in, that you're good at something that's bigger than you are, and you can hardly wait to get at it again today."

"Success is waking up in the morning, whoever you are, wherever you are, however old or young, and bounding out of bed because there's something out there you love to do, that you believe in, that you're good at something that's bigger than you are, and you can hardly wait to get at it again today."